Communications are critical in all emergency situations.
In a severe emergency such as major earthquake or wildfire, cell phones and landline telephones are not expected to work in Portola Valley. That means word of mouth, and radios will be the primary source of information. Portola Valley does have an AM radio station at 1680 kHz on your AM dial in your car or home.
The PV Emergency Preparedness Committee, CERPP, Woodside Fire Protection District and interested citizens demonstrated radio communications in association with the American Radio Relay League Field Day. Continue reading Portola Valley Emergency Communication Services→
Thanks to Paige Bishop and the Cultural Arts Committee, Portola Valley neighbors and friends enjoyed a concert at the Town Center on July 16, 2015.
The concert followed the usual Farmer’s Market on a Thursday afternoon and there were food trucks who provided additional fare.
It was a great time to meet and to greet old friends and new.
The Portola Valley Song was written by Nancy Bovee and performed with Steve Dunne and Laure Woods at the Portola Valley 50th Anniversary Celebration on September 21, 2014.
Bill Boller talks with Nancy Lund, Portola Valley Historian, and Virginia Bacon about Jacques Littlefield, Pony Tracks, the Millitary Vehicle Technology Foundation, and Collings Foundation, Stow, Mass.
Sunday, September 21, 2014 was the culmination of a year of planning for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Portola Valley’s incorporation as a town. The ad-hoc 50th Celebration Committee was headed by Cindie White and Danna Breen, who made this dream become a reality, along with many volunteers, Town Manager, Nick Pegueros, and Town staff.
Danna Breen and Cindie White
The day started in an InterFaith Service at the Town Center and included the simultaneous ringing of bells.
Interfaith Service at Town Center included the simultaneous ringing of bells from all the churches in Town.
The Town invited residents to a BBQ and lots of events through out the day including gathering materials for a new time capsule.
50th Anniversary Celebration photo by Paige Bishop
There was an informative panel presentation moderated by Nancy Lund. It gave residents an overview of how the Town was formed and where its values came from. Speakers included Sam Haltsed, George Mader, Sue Crane, Bill Cotton, Tom Vlasic and Alex VonFelt. Jon Silver also spoke eloquently from the audience describing Portola Valley as a “Garden of Eden” for democracy.
You can see the presentation here:
Nancy Bovee, Laure Woods and Steve Dunne performed a new Portola Valley song which they composed for the 50th Anniversary gathering.
What a great way to celebrate Portola Valley, the place we all call home.
Jacques Littlefield passed away in 2009, but his legacy will continue as part of the non-profit Collings Foundation of Stow, Massachusetts.
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm
The Collings Foundation acquired Jacques amazing collection of military hardware, parts and manuals from the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation, which was incorporated as a not-for-profit and founded by Jacques. The Collings Foundation plans to build a new museum to house and preserve a large part of Jacques vast collection.
The Littlefield Auction Preview was Open to the Public on July 9 and 10, 2014
The new museum will be named after Jacques Littlefield and be open to the public about 8 months of the year.
To fund the construction and aid in the process of moving the collection from Pony Tracks Ranch in Portola Valley to its new location, the Collings Foundation held an auction on July 11 and 12th 2014. The auction was conducted by Auctions America and held on site. There were two auction Previews Days which were Open to the Public where Collings Foundation volunteers graciously provided information about the collection.
This volunteer explains details about the equipment and its history.Littlefield Auction July 12, 2014. This was the Auction day the heavy equipment and tanks were sold. Three of the 5 Select Auction items did not meet their reserves and did not sell. All the other items had no reserves.Auction Equipment Tag
According to Michael Brandt, who led tours of the collection and worked in the machine shop, Jacques had high standards. When restoring equipment he insisted on quality and authenticity both inside and out. This is one of the reasons why Jacques collection is so highly acclaimed.
Hopes and dreams for the future are remembered in the books sold by Michael Brandt.
Michael sold many of the books he’s collected over the years to auction patrons.
Rob Collings of the Collings Foundation honored Tom Sator, a lifelong supporter who had ridden in combat in some of the vehicles auctioned.
Rob Collings presents a plaque to Tom Sator at the July 12, 2014 Auction
The auction represented the end of an era for Portola Valley
This is a video of Portola Valley Planning Retreat held at the Town Center May 18, 2014. It followed the background session (Parts 1,2 and 3) and has the Town Council, Commissions and Public comment.
Some audio was lost so this video is incomplete, but includes most of what was said.
The stated objectives of the retreat were to review land use planning and the framework for planning decision making in Portola Valley with a critical eye to the future
This video is also over an hour long.
The Public discussion begins at 46.43 minutes.
This was a public meeting with Town Council, Planning Commission and ASCC in attendance along with members of the general public.
Documenting life and times in the Town of Portola Valley, California
